Mergers, Models & Moonshots

📈 Portfolio Pulse

🔮 The Musk Empire Consolidates

Rumors are swirling that SpaceX and xAI could merge ahead of a planned SpaceX IPO this June, according to Reuters, though nothing has been officially confirmed. Two new corporate entities were established in Nevada on January 21, potentially signaling intent. The combined entity would unite Grok, X platform, Starlink satellites, and SpaceX rockets, and could enable xAI to put data centers in space. This follows Tesla's $2 billion investment in xAI's recent $20 billion Series E round. Reports suggest the IPO could value SpaceX at over $1.5 trillion, making it the most valuable private-turned-public company in U.S. history. TechCrunch / TechCrunch

💰 Anthropic Doubles Down to $20B

Anthropic just doubled its latest round from $10B to $20B at a $350B valuation, with demand reportedly 5–6x oversubscribed and backing from Coatue, GIC, Sequoia, and likely Microsoft and Nvidia. The capital positions Anthropic to go toe-to-toe with OpenAI on both compute and frontier model development, with an IPO rumored for the back half of 2026. At the same time, Anthropic launched interactive Claude apps that plug directly into tools like Slack, Figma, Canva, Box, and more, letting Claude operate inside real enterprise workflows. Paired with Claude Cowork (you should be trying this) and built on the MCP standard, this feels like a clear push to make Claude the connective tissue across the modern work stack. YahooFinance / TechCrunch

👀 OpenAI Eyes Public Markets

OpenAI is reportedly racing toward a potential late-2026 IPO, holding early conversations with banks and building out its finance team as it looks to become the first major generative AI company to hit the public markets ahead of rivals like Anthropic. The push reflects both competitive pressure and the sheer scale of capital required to train models and build global AI infrastructure. Alongside that, OpenAI continues to deepen real-world adoption with new tools like Prism for scientists, reinforcing that this isn’t just an R&D story anymore. If this comes together, it could shape up to be one of the most consequential tech IPOs of the decade. WSJ / OpenAI

🌎 Coinbase and Kalshi Collab Launch Goes Nationwide

Coinbase rolled out Kalshi-powered prediction markets nationwide, letting users trade on sports, culture, politics, and more using cash or USDC. Brian Armstrong framed prediction markets as a powerful signal engine, where incentives drive clearer outcomes than commentary. Coinbase now joins Robinhood as a major distribution platform for regulated prediction markets, accelerating Kalshi’s push into the mainstream, even as regulators continue to test the edges of what’s allowed. YahooFinance

🧠 Neuralink Sets Timeline for Blindsight

Neuralink is aiming to begin human trials of its Blindsight vision implant by the end of 2026. The device bypasses the eyes and optic nerves, sending visual data from a camera directly to the visual cortex, and is already working in monkeys with FDA Breakthrough Device status. Early vision will be low resolution, but the goal is to scale rapidly and eventually exceed normal human sight, including restoring vision for people blind from birth if the visual cortex is intact. Musk also said Neuralink plans to ramp high-volume BCI production and fully automated surgeries in 2026. CNBC

🏁 Anduril's AI Grand Prix: Racing for Jobs

Anduril launched the AI Grand Prix, a global autonomous drone racing competition where software engineers compete for $500K and a job offer. Conceived by Palmer Luckey, the event tests autonomy software in real flight conditions using identical drones from Neros Technologies, with no hardware tweaks allowed, making it a pure software contest. The competition runs in three phases: virtual qualifiers in spring 2026, an in-person training camp in Southern California, and a live head-to-head race in Ohio that fall. It’s recruiting as spectacle, letting Anduril pressure-test top autonomy talent while showcasing some of the most compelling applications of defense tech. TechCrunch

☁️ Cloud Play for Perplexity

Perplexity signed a reported $750M, multi-year cloud agreement with Microsoft, cementing Azure as its core infrastructure as usage and product depth continue to scale. The company has been relatively quiet in recent months, making this a notable signal that it’s still very much in build mode. Reuters

👀 Watch List

🚇 Boring Company Cracks the Strip

The Boring Company opened a new Vegas Loop station at Fontainebleau this week, making it the first major Strip resort to offer free Loop access to guests, a key milestone for Loop’s viability. Stations are now live at Encore, Westgate, Resorts World, and Fontainebleau, with a proposed 68-mile network connecting more than 100 stations citywide. Vegas Loop continues to look like a real proof point for low-cost tunneling in dense cities, especially as resorts begin treating access as an amenity. We’re also actively working on access to a rumored upcoming round and will share more as that develops. Drive Tesla

🛰️ Varda Proves Space Manufacturing Works

Varda Space successfully landed its W-5 capsule on January 29, marking the first mission flown entirely on its own vertically integrated stack, including an in-house satellite bus and heat shield. The payload was for the U.S. Navy, underscoring growing defense demand, and Varda is now operating two spacecraft at once for the first time. This feels like the shift from proving space manufacturing works to making it repeatable, with real implications for cost and scale. Morningstar

💬 Prompt

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📚 Content

📢 MrBeast and MrMusk

Seeing MrBeast, one of our portcos, feature several of our other portfolio companies in a viral video was not on our bingo card. Yet, here we are. Launched 5 days ago and already more than 75M views!

📺 TBPN

We tune into TBPN regularly, so it was great to see this breakdown of how the network came together and why it’s working. The video walks through TBPN’s origin, its live-first format, and a media model that’s far more efficient than traditional TV, offering a glimpse into what next-generation business and tech media can look like.

🧠 Write, Then Read

🧢 Gear

New LFG “Addicted to Acceleration” hat just landed. Classic fit, fresh white color-way, AGNB on the side for those who know. It’s subtle, but it tends to start conversations wherever it goes. Get yours here.

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